This report covers the progress of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) in meeting the requirements of the Final Settlement Agreement (FSA) entered in Michelle H., et al. v. McMaster and Leach, for the period April 1-September 30, 2023.
Publications & Resources
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Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers from Culturally Responsive Services (Webinar)
January 2024
In this webinar, community providers discuss the challenges they face in providing responsive services, including building evidence and operating in the context of restrictive “evidence-based” standards, as well as recommendations for actions state and federal policymakers can take to ensure all families have the support they need through expanding access and availability of programs that are developed by and for communities of color.
Panelists and Moderator:
- Alexandra Citrin, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy (Moderator)
- Esi Hutchful, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for the Study of Social Policy
- Paul Smokowski, PhD, Executive Director, North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center
- Dana Kingfisher, ASA/Tobacco Program Coordinator, All Nations Health Center
- Melvin Mason, LCSW, Executive & Clinical Director (retired), The Village Project, Inc.
Read the report here.
Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers Facing Providers of Culturally Responsive Services
January 2024
Ensuring child and family well-being requires a radically different, anti-racist response of supports that center the voices of diverse children and families of color, are dignified and strengths-based, and that are offered in spaces they trust. As this brief highlights, community-based organizations across the country are striving to answer that call despite numerous barriers. This brief lifts up the voices of those community providers, with the goal of highlighting and addressing the barriers that stand in the way of all families having the support they need.
Watch the webinar here.
(19 pp)
Kevin S., et al. v. Blalock and Scrase, Co-Neutrals’ Baseline and 2022 Annual Report (November 15, 2023)
November 2023
This is the Co-Neutrals’ third Kevin S. report on the State’s efforts to achieve the commitments of the FSA. Overall, in 2022, the State remained far behind the FSA timelines for most commitments. The FSA was structured with Implementation Targets (ITs) due to be completed in the first years of the reform as the foundation for improved outcomes (Target Outcomes, TOs) for New Mexico’s children, youth, and families.
Michelle H., et al. v. McMaster Progress Report (October 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023)
October 2023
This report covers the progress of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) in meeting the requirements of the Final Settlement Agreement (FSA) entered in Michelle H., et al. v. McMaster and Leach, for the period October 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023.
(140 pp)
July 2023 Co-Monitors’ Supplemental Report Regarding the South Carolina Placement Crisis
October 2023
This report was submitted to the Court and the public by the Co-Monitors in response to the escalating DSS placement crisis. It includes a summary and analysis of recent information collected, along with short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations for ways to address the underlying causes of the instability being experienced by children and families engaged with the South Carolina Department of Social Services.
(30 pp)
Charlie and Nadine H Report on Progress (April 25 – October 25, 2023)
October 2023
This report measures the progress of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families under the Sustainability and Exit Plan and includes performance data for the period of April 25 – October 25, 2023. This release is the final report by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), the court-appointed Monitor in the federal class action lawsuit Charlie and Nadine H. v. Murphy, and marks the successful conclusion of almost two decades of work to improve New Jersey’s child welfare system.
(53 pp)
Supporting Youth Aging Out of Foster Care through SNAP
October 2023
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) includes new provisions which should eliminate some of the barriers former foster youth have experienced in accessing SNAP. This brief explains the new rules and the steps that state agencies can take to ensure that former foster youth are able to access the critical nutrition assistance they are now owed.
This brief updates a version originally published in 2016.
(11 pp)
McIntyre v. Howard, Progress of Kansas Department of Children and Families, Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services, and Kansas Department of Health and Environment for Period 2 (January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022)
August 2023
This report assesses the State of Kansas’ progress toward achieving the Performance Goals, Practice Improvements, and Outcomes of the McIntyre v. Howard Settlement Agreement (referred to herein as the Settlement Agreement or Agreement) for calendar year 2022 (CY 2022).
CARES: Understanding How Transition Age Youth Experience their Communities
July 2023
This report shares findings taken from a Community Analysis and identifies 1) structural challenges that communities face as they work to support transition age youth (TAY); 2) narratives about TAY that contribute to these challenges and policies and practices that create burdens for TAY in meeting their needs; and 3) creative solutions that build the capacity of communities to affirm, include, and support youth transitioning out of foster care.
(29 pp)